The Ones Who Cared
by katzsoa
Summary: Ash, Brock, and Dawn are visited by an old friend, who brings with him a new friend--a girl with a very strange attitude toward humans...
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**: This story is supposed to take place during the Diamond and Pearl series. As I have not watched Pokémon regularly for a while, I may have the characters' Pokémon teams wrong. I hope you enjoy anyway!

**Prologue**

"Staraptor, use Wing Attack!" Ash Ketchum called. His gray and white bird Pokémon obeyed, knocking his opponent's Tyrogue to the ground. "Yes!" shouted in triumph. Dawn, Brock, and Pikachu cheered. The other trainer snarled in frustration.

Unbeknownst to the battlers, some others stood watching them from a nearby hill. One was a young boy, maybe ten or eleven, wearing a green shirt, white capris, and glasses. On his right stood a Kirlia, and on his left an older girl sat astride a Rapidash. She wore light brown clothes and had her brunette hair pulled back in a braid.

"Is that him?" the girl asked, not taking her gaze from the battle.

"Yes," the boy replied. "That's Ash, all right."

They stood unspeaking for a few moments.

"He is a trainer," the girl broke the silence. "He makes his Pokémon fight."

"We can trust him," the boy said quickly, looking up at his companion. "_I_ trust him. He's a good guy. He takes good care of his Pokémon. Brock, too. I don't know the girl, but if Ash is traveling with her then he must trust her, so I trust her, too."

The girl said nothing, but the boy noticed her fist was clenched. He glanced back at the battle—Ash, having won, had put Staraptor back in its Pokéball.

"Kirlia," said the Kirlia. The Rapidash bent its head forward in a nod.

The girl sighed. "All right," she said. "We will trust him, Max…for now."

**Author's Note:** It's not very long, but this is a prologue and my first story. Please review!


	2. Chapter 1

"Did you see that?" Ash laughed as the trio plus Pikachu continued walking later. "That guy's Pokémon went down like _nothing_. Is my team good or what?"

"We saw, Ash," Dawn said. "I can't wait until my Pokémon are that strong!"

"Hey, Ash! Brock! Wait up!" a voice called from behind. The group turned to see that they were being followed by a boy, a girl, and their Pokémon—a Kirlia and a Rapidash, on which the girl rode.

"Long time no see!" the boy said as he reached them.

"…do we know you?" Ash asked.

The boy laughed. "You mean you don't recognize me? So I _have _grown! It's me, Max!"

"Max!" Brock said, recognizing their old travelling mate.

"Hey, how've you been?" Ash asked.

"Just great, Ash. Who's this?" Max asked, looking at Dawn.

"This is Dawn," Brock answered. "She's a Coordinator."

Dawn held out her hand, and Max shook it. "Nice to meet you," she said. "What's your name?" she asked the girl on the Rapidash.

The girl glanced at Max, then dismounted, keeping one hand on the Rapidash's side.

"This is Sara," Max introduced. "She's a friend of mine."

This time Ash held out his hand. Sara hesitated for a second, but then took it. In the moment that they touched, Ash felt very strange, like someone had taken him apart and was studying the pieces.

"Pleasure," said Sara, withdrawing her hand. The feeling vanished. Ash decided it must have been fatigue from the battle.

"Where are you guys headed?" he asked.

"Nowhere in particular," Max said. "We saw you battling earlier and decided to join you for a while."

"There's supposed to be a good spot to camp not too far from here," Brock said. "We can unpack there and chat for a while."

"That sounds great!" Max smiled. "What do you say, Sara?"

"That's fine," she said, remounting her Rapidash.

"You don't have to ride," Brock said. "It's not that far."

"Almost any use of my right leg hurts," Sara informed him in a very matter-of-fact way. Rapidash began to walk ahead of

"Huh?" the trio glanced at Max, who shrugged.

"She'll tell you if she wants you to know," he said. "Let's go."

* * *

"So, what have you been doing?" Brock asked as they continued to walk.

"Well," Max said. "As soon as I was old enough I went to find the Ralts I promised I would return for. He's a Kirlia now, though."

"Kirlia!" said the Kirlia happily.

"That's when I met Sara," Max said. "She and Rapidash were on Izabe Island too, and we decided to travel together."

"How have you been doing with gym battles?" Ash wanted to know.

Max hesitated. "…I haven't been," he said. "Sara and I—we don't battle."

Ash was confused. "Why not?"

Again Max hesitated, glancing ahead at Sara.

"Okay," he said. "This is going to sound really weird, but Sara and I…aren't like other humans."

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.

"We see the world differently," Max said. "We can understand the way Pokémon speak. Sara even thinks…it's possible we're even _part Pokémon_."

**Author's Note:** Please review!


	3. Chapter 2

"What?" Ash said.

"Really?" Dawn asked.

"Impossible!" Brock exclaimed.

"_I knew there was something odd about you two,"_ Pikachu said.

"_Odd, but a blessing!"_ Kirlia admonished. _"It saved my life!"_

* * *

"He told them," Sara muttered.

"_You knew he would,"_ Rapidash pointed out.

"Yes, but not so suddenly!" the girl said, shaking her head. "He is too rash."

"_So we all are when we are young,"_ Rapidash said. _"He has not seen the world through our eyes for that long. It is still strange to him—he needs others of his kind."_

"_We_ are his kind!" Sara insisted.

"_The more you tighten your grip, the more he will want to slip through your fingers."_

Sara sighed. "I need him," she admitted. "It's not that I don't think you're enough, my friend, but he is the only other human I've ever met who hears. No one else is as open to the souls of Pokémon as I… I need him to hold on to the human life. I can't stand much human company, you know that. But I feel I need to. Does that make sense?"

"_You're a human having a conversation with a Pokémon, and you're asking if things make sense?"_

Sara laughed, stroking Rapidash's neck.

* * *

"So you can understand what a Pokémon is saying at any time?" Ash was asking.

"Yes," Max said. "Well, not all the time, and not every Pokémon. I always can understand Kirlia and Rapidash, and if Sara is talking to a Pokémon I can understand that, too. I think it may have something to do with if a Pokémon wants you to understand it."

_"Sometimes, it does,"_ Kirlia said. _"But on the day I met you, I wanted anyone to hear me but only you did."_

"What did he just say?" Dawn wanted to know. Max translated.

"I thought that he'd called to you with telepathy," Brock said.

Max shrugged. "Whether he did or not, you guys didn't notice."

"So what do you two actually _do_?" Ash asked.

"Sara tries to teach me to expand my abilities so that I can understand all the time," Max said. "We avoid towns as much as possible—Sara really doesn't like humans, mainly trainers or anyone who keeps Pokémon. I'd advise that you avoid using Pokéballs around her. If she gets her hands on one, she breaks it. I don't know how she does it. The ball just sort of falls apart and the Pokémon is set free."

"Does she do that often?" Dawn asked. "Free other people's Pokémon, I mean."

"Yes," Max said. "As much as she can, whether they say yes to her or not."

"That's not fair," Ash said. "They caught and trained the Pokémon, so it's their right—"

Sara's head whipped around, facing Ash directly.

"No human has any right when it comes to owning a Pokémon," she hissed. "If that Pikachu converted you into energy, trapped you in a tiny cage, and forced you to fight other humans for sport and his own glory, would you be happy? Would that be _fair,_ Ash Ketchum?"

"But the Pokémon don't mind," Ash protested.

"What do_ you_ know about what a Pokémon minds?"

"Only bad trainers—"

"That's redundant, human," Sara snapped. "'Bad trainer,' ha! I've been all over the region and I've yet to meet a 'good trainer.'"

_"Sara, please--"_ Kirlia began.

"Don't you start," Sara cut him off. "I've heard it before. 'Trainers can be good. Trainers saved me when I was sick…' Give it a rest!"

_"I like Ash and his friends," _Pikachu said.

"What proof do you have that they are unhappy?" Ash demanded.

"Proof? I'll give you proof!" Sara shouted, placing a hand on Rapidash's temple. The horse-like Pokémon shuddered slightly, but Sara was too angry to notice.

Suddenly, the ground lurched under Ash's feet. He didn't realize when he fell forward, because now he wasn't Ash the human, he was Ponyta, and he was somewhere far away and very, very scared…

* * *

_Ponyta strained to keep up with her mother, who was urging her on, frantically._

"_Come, child," Rapidash cried. "Hurry, hurry!"_

_But Ponyta was too young and tired to hurry, and slowed. Her mother stopped and stood over her, head held high as she listened for their pursuers._

"_Mom…" Ponyta whimpered._

"_Hush, child," Rapidash said. "Don't fear. Everything will be all right."_

"Water Gun!_" a voice called, and a jet of powerful water shot through the trees and hit Rapidash full-on. She cried out and sagged, but stayed in front of her child._

_Their attackers came into view. One was a young boy, Pokéball in hand. The other was his Feraligatr._

"I've got you now!_" the boy declared._

_Rapidash weakly attempted a Fire Spin, but the Feraligatr didn't even flinch, dousing her with water again._

_The boy threw a Pokéball at Rapidash. Ponyta watched in horror as her mother faded into a ball of light and was sealed into the Pokéball. The ball rocked back and forth for a few moments, but then lay still._

"_Mom! Mom!" Ponyta screamed. "Come back! Come out of that stupid ball! I need you! Please, Mom, please!" But her cries were in vain. The boy picked up the Pokéball, laughing to himself._

"Now it's your turn,_" he said, taking another Pokéball from his pocket._

_Terrified, Ponyta froze. Then another voice called out:_

"Run, Ponyta! This way!_"_

_The girl emerged running from the trees, and Ponyta snapped out of her paralysis and followed. The boy shouted in anger, sending his Feraligatr in pursuit._

_The pair ran, dodging blasts of water from behind. Suddenly there was a drop in the ground, and human and Ponyta tumbled down the rocky slope. They dropped into a small cave and out of sight of the boy and his Feraligatr._

_Trembling, Ponyta got to her feet. The girl was lying nearby._

"Are you all right?_" the girl asked._

"_Yes," the Ponyta answered. "But he took my mom…"_

"I know,_" the girl said. "_We'll make him pay._"_

_She tried to get up and gasped in pain. Ponyta noticed that her leg was bent very strangely in two places. The girl had broken it in the fall._

**Author's Note: **Review please!


	4. Chapter 3

Ash sat upright with a jolt. "Where's Ponyta?" he gasped.

"You're finally awake!" Dawn exclaimed. Ash glanced around. He was no longer in a cave. He was lying on the ground in a clearing—the campsite.

"Max said not to worry, but Sara wouldn't tell us what she'd _done_ to you!" he was vaguely aware of Dawn continuing.

Ash's eyes fell on Rapidash, standing a little ways away and staring at him steadily.

"It was _you,_" he said, scrambling to his feet. "You were the Ponyta!"

Rapidash lowered her head slightly.

"Ash, what are you—" Dawn began, but Ash rushed to Rapidash's side.

"What happened?" he demanded. "Did you find that boy?"

"Oh, we found him, a few months later," Sara said. Ash turned to see her sitting against a nearby tree.

"What happened to Rapidash?"

"She wasn't there," the girl replied. "He'd traded her. We never saw her again.

"But what does it matter to _you_, Ash Ketchum?" she inquired. "After all, he had caught her and trained her. Thus it was his _right_ to do as he pleased. Don't you think it's _fair?_"

Sara sighed, shaking her head. "You wanted to know what I do," she said. "Now you know, and as a bonus you know why."

Ash opened his mouth, but could think of nothing to say. He turned and walked back to his friends, who were very confused.

"You're not going to believe me," he said. Then he told them what he had seen.

* * *

_"Look, Max," _Kirlia said, picking up two of Ash's Pokéballs from where they had fallen out of his pocket. _"I wonder who's inside."_

"I don't know," Max said. "Ash probably has different Pokémon than the ones he had the last time I saw him."

_"Should we have Sara break them?"_ the Psychic Pokémon asked.

Max hesitated. "No," he said. "Not now, at least. You'd better give them back."

_"He's confused," _Kirlia observed. _"And the other two are, also. Rapidash and Sara are sad. I hate negative feelings. They make me sad."_

Max extended a comforting arm. Kirlia's psychic abilities left him sensitive to others' emotions.

_"What are we going to do now?"_ Kirlia asked, leaning into his best friend's embrace.

"I don't know," Max said. "Do you think I made a mistake in convincing Sara to meet Ash?"

_"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know."_

* * *

"What do we do now?" Ash was asking the same question.

Brock shrugged. "I really never thought about capturing Pokémon that way. It makes me wonder… how many Pokémon are really happy in the world?"

"What if we asked our Pokémon, and had Max or Sara translate for us?" Dawn suggested.

"Pika pi," Pikachu said, rubbing his head against Ash's arm.

"Well, I know _you're_ happy, Pikachu," Ash said.

"Kirlia."

Ash turned to see Kirlia standing behind him, holding out two Pokéballs.

"Are those mine?" he asked, taking them. "Thanks, Kirlia."

Suddenly a distant call was heard, from too far away to tell what kind of creature made it. Max looked at Sara, whose face was turned to the sky.

"Salamence," she said.

"Is it the same one?" Max asked. Sara nodded.

"What Salamence?" Ash asked.

"A few days ago we stumbled upon a group of Team Rocket members," Max said, scanning the sky for the Salamence. "Sara managed to free one Pokémon before being noticed, and that was a Salamence that it turned out had been borrowed from Giovanni."

The Salamence swooped down, coming to a landing near Sara, who worked her way to her feet by leaning on the tree she had been sitting next to. Max focused, trying to understand what it was saying to her.

_"…putting them up everywhere there are humans. They search for you, friend, they don't like what you did…saying they saw you and sending them this way!"_

"Thank you, Salamence," Sara said. "Now go. Please. You owe me nothing."

Salamence hesitated, but then took off again. The others rushed over to Sara.

"What was that all about?" Dawn asked.

"Apparently Team Rocket has been putting up posters warranting my arrest," Sara said in a strangely calm voice. "They're nearly here. You should leave. No need for you all to get caught up in this."

_"You're not just going to give yourself up, are you?" _Rapidash gasped.

"I'm not leaving," Max said.

_"Me neither," _Kirlia added.

"You four should leave, at least," Sara said, looking at Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Pikachu. "It would be wrong for them to assume that you were my accomplices."

"No," Ash said. "I don't know if I entirely trust you, but we won't just stand by and let you get taken by Team Rocket, right?" Dawn and Brock nodded.

_"Right!" _Pikachu said.

Sara sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

But as Sara swung back onto Rapidash as the others grabbed their packs, she realized that she was secretly grateful that they were standing by her, whatever their motives. She found herself reflecting on the impression she'd gotten during her short two bonds with Ash.

_He's a trainer, but he cares, _she thought. _He cares about the Pokémon even though he makes them fight for him. He is a very strange human. I hope he gets out of this unharmed._

* * *

The group hadn't been traveling for very long before they came to a ledge overlooking a river. The current looked very strong, even from above.

"Looks like we'll have to go another way," Brock said.

_"Thank you so much for stating the obvious,"_ Rapidash said. Sara lowered her head to hide her amused smile.

But then, disaster struck.

Suddenly there were Team Rocket members on all sides except for the ledge. Their Pokémon were varied, but all incredibly menacing.

"We've got you now!" a Rocket Grunt called. Ash and his friends quickly summoned their Pokémon, and soon complete chaos broke out. Everywhere, Pokémon were fighting. Sara leapt down from Rapidash, distressed by the overwhelming violence between Pokémon. Rapidash tried to stay between her and the battle, but was slowly forced backwards towards the cliff. Suddenly, a well-aimed Hyper Beam hit the ground under her feet, which crumbled, sending Rapidash tumbling into the river.

"RAPIDASH!" Sara screamed, diving after her.

"Come on!" yelled a Rocket. "Forget the others. Where does that river lead?" The Rockets and their Pokémon retreated. The friends leaned carefully over the ledge, trying to see what had become of Sara and Rapidash.

* * *

Sara grabbed Rapidash's head, attempting to hold it above the raging water. The Fire Pokémon seemed unconscious. Cursing her useless leg, she realized that they were at the absolute mercy of the current.

_Don't worry,_ she thought. _We're not going to drown. We're going to survive._

Sara was having trouble keeping both her and Rapidash above the surface. They passed around a river bend, and Sara realized why the current was so fast: there was a waterfall.

_Of course there would be a waterfall. Just my luck._

The pair went down very, very fast. For a while, Sara was aware of nothing but water on all sides. But then the water turned merciful and deposited them on the shore.

**Author's Note:** Please review! I want to know what you think of this story. And I'm sorry I don't post very much. School keeps me pretty busy, but as it is Spring Break now I may write more.


	5. Chapter 4

Sara choked and gagged, coughing up water. As soon as she could breathe clearly again she turned to Rapidash. Agony jolted up her leg as she moved—she must have hit it on a rock as they fell. She placed a hand on the Fire Pokémon's neck. To her relief, Rapidash was breathing. But the flames of her mane and tail were dim.

_"…Sara…"_

"Stay still, now," Sara said. "You're going to be fine."

_"They're coming, Sara… I can hear them…"_

"Don't worry about it." Sara glanced around. They were at the foot of a very steep slope. On the other side was the river—calmer here, but still too dangerous to cross.

_"Let's go," _said Rapidash, trying to get up. _"I'll take you somewhere safer."_

"No," said Sara firmly. "You're not going to do anything else for me. I've caused enough trouble. Maybe it's time someone put a stop to me."

_"Is that what's been on your mind?"_ Rapidash's voice was incredulous. _"Sara, you are a gift to all Pokémon! Don't you realize that we're all grateful to you? All of us who you've freed, we owe you our lives!"_

"You owe me nothing!" Sara insisted. "No one owes me anything! The day a Pokémon fights for me is the day I become like _them._ The trainers. Those humans who are deaf to the plight of Pokémon."

_"You'll never be like them, Sara. You've worked so hard—"_

"And what happens everywhere I work?" Sara cried. "Pain for humans, who lose their way of life! Pain for Pokémon, who I force to question the way things are! Pain for me, too!

"I alone hear the Pokémon's cries. I alone feel obligated to help. I am alone, because I alone can steal memories and forge bonds between minds. Have you ever known a human or Pokémon who could do that? I am both and I am neither. I have never belonged."

Sara bowed her head, letting her tears flow for the first time in years. "I'm tired of all this, Rapidash," she sobbed. "I'm ready for it to end."

"We'll be happy to oblige," said the Rocket Grunt. The Rockets were at the top of the slope. Sara raised her head to face them.

"Do whatever you want with me," she said. "But leave the Pokémon out of this."

_"No."_

Rapidash struggled to her feet, stepping between Sara and the Rockets.

"_You're my best friend, Sara. I won't let them take you without a fight."_

"Rapidash. Please. Don't do this. You can barely stand."

The Rapidash turned to smile at the human. _"You'll never become like them," _she said. _"Remember that."_

Sara hung her head again, not wanting to watch as the Rockets' Pokémon descended the slope towards them.

* * *

"Come on," said Max. "They must be further downstream."

"It's unlikely anyone could have survived the fall, let alone the current—"

_"Don't say that!" _Kirlia interrupted Brock. _"They're alive! They've got to be!"_ Brock didn't understand, but he got the gist of it from her expression.

"I'm sorry, Kirlia," he said.

Suddenly Salamence's call filled the air once more, but it was too fast for Max to understand.

"What's happening?" he asked Kirlia.

_"Something wonderful," _she answered. _"Let's hurry!"_

* * *

Sara looked up when she heard Salamence arrive. She twisted around to see—and all humans present were astounded by the scene.

Every single wild Pokémon that lived anywhere within two miles of the site were standing behind her, lead by Salamence. There were Pokémon of all ages, colors, and types. All were staring furiously at the Rockets and their Pokémon. Sara was too amazed to protest.

_"This girl is one of us," _Salamence announced. _"She's under our protection."_

_"You all should be ashamed!"_ a Fearow shouted to the Rockets' Pokémon. _"Don't you know who this is? Don't you know what she's done for our kind?"_

A Rocket's Machoke frowned. _"These are our masters. We have our orders."_

"Why are you just standing around?" said a Rocket. "Attack already!"

_"Don't!" _called a Seaking.

_"We have no choice," _protested a Rocket's Tauros.

_"There is always a choice," _Salamence insisted. _"Once I was one of you. Now I am free. Renounce your masters and join us in defense of the one who cares!"_

"I said attack!" shouted the Rocket. The Pokémon hesitated, glancing at each other.

_"As you wish," _snarled the Tauros, whirling around and charging his trainer. The wild Pokémon cheered and entered the fray.

Sara was crying again, but this time the tears were not of pain but of gratitude.

"It's such a strange world," she whispered.

_"The strangest," _Rapidash agreed.

"I thought I knew it all," Sara continued. "I thought only the bad humans had Pokémon fight for them."

_"Sometimes it's nice to be wrong, isn't it?" _Rapidash sat down next to Sara. _"I wish the others were here to see this."_

"I think they are," Sara said, looking up to the top of the waterfall, where four humans, a Kirlia, and a Pikachu stood staring in wonder.

_"Are you all right, Sara?" _Kirlia called down.

Sara smiled. "I am now," she said.

**Author's note: **All that's left to do now is wrap up the story! Please review!


	6. Chapter 5

"Do what you like with them," Sara told a passing Pidgeot. "But bring me their Pokéballs." The Pidgeot passed the message on through the ranks of wild Pokémon, and when the others reached Sara they found her surrounded by the Rocket's Pokémon and the ground was littered with broken Pokéballs. There was absolutely no sign of the Rockets.

"It's a skill I enjoy," she said, casually dismembering a final Pokéball and letting it drop. "Now they all will have a chance to live free again."

"Where will they all go?" Ash asked.

_"Home," _said a Graveler. _"My family lives up in the mountains. It's time for me to join them there."_

_ "I do not know how to get home," _said the Tauros. _"I came from another region!"_

_ "I will help them, Sara," _Salamence said. _"All who need aid, I will help you," _he added to the rest of the Pokémon.

"What were they saying?" Dawn asked.

"Salamence will help the Rockets' Pokémon find their way home," Max told her.

"Good luck, my friends," Sara said. The wild Pokémon cheered in support as Salamence took off, the newly freed Pokémon following.

"You all can go home now," the girl continued to the wild Pokémon. "But you have my eternal gratitude."

"_It was our pleasure, Friend-to-Pokémon," _said the Fearow.

"_Just remember, Sara," _said a Lapras. _"All Pokémon will do anything for the Ones Who Care."_

The wild Pokémon left quickly and quietly. The entire valley was quiet—it was as though nature itself knew that something important had transpired that day.

Ash stuck his hands in his pockets. "Hey, Sara…" he said.

Sara looked up at him, and he held out his Pokéballs.

"Set them free, too," he said. "I don't think I want to be anyone's master anymore."

Sara gaped for a moment. Then she slowly reached towards Ash's hands. Her fingers reached for the Pokéballs…

She pushed Ash's fingers closed around them.

"No," she said, smiling. "Keep them, Ash. In your hands, they are free, in a way. You care for them, and they like you. You do not need to force them to fight for you. They do so willingly, and that is what is most important."

"Max, could you help me up?" Sara asked. Max grabbed her by the forearms, lifting her to her feet. She leaned heavily on one leg, but stood.

"Well, it hurts no worse than usual." Sara turned to Rapidash. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"_I always am," _said the Fire Pokémon, getting to her feet.

Sara swung up onto Rapidash. "It's getting late," she said to Ash and his friends. "You should get moving if you're to reach your destination before it gets too dark."

"If you're ever near a town, send word," Ash said to Max.

"We'll keep in touch," Max agreed.

"_Good-bye, all," _Kirlia said, waving so that they would understand what she meant.

The two humans and Pokémon turned away, heading downstream.

"Which way's the road?" Dawn asked.

"This way," Brock said, pointing west, back up the slope.

The three friends plus Pikachu headed off into the sunset, each thinking about what events had occurred that day, knowing that it had affected the way they would handle events in the future.

**Author's Note: **Well, that's it! It even ends with the heroes heading off into the sunset. Please review, and check out my other stories!


End file.
